Grand Prix Columbus 2007

Hulk Flash Smashes Columbus!

May 19-20, 2007

If you happen to be in New York City this week, the ice cream cake is going to be on Steve Sadin! 883 players descended on Columbus, Ohio with Goblins, Affinity, Threshold, MonoBlack, Slivers, and just about every deck you can name, but Steve piloted a Billy Moreno-designed version of Hulk Flash to victory at the third-ever Legacy Grand Prix.

Sadin was thrilled when he realized he had qualified for a Pro Tour by a means other than PTQ earlier in the day. When he took the three-game match against Owen Turtenwald's Goblin build in the finals he hoisted the trophy and did a literal lap around the room.

Sunday, May 20: 5:22 p.m. - The Top 8 Player Profiles

Ryan Trepanier

Record Day 1: 7-2Record Day 2: 5-0-1How would you identify yourself as a Magic player? (Constructed specialist, Limited Specialist, Vintage player, etc.)
Limited Specialist / Vintage Player (Team Supreme)How much work did you put in for the format?
2 days of testing (14 hours), tons of reading

How big a factor was Hulk Flash in your testing?
Huge factor. Every deck in gauntlet had a minimum of 8 sb cards

Do you think Flash needs to be banned in Legacy?
Definitely not. Turn 2 Flash is no more broken than turn 1 Vial or Lackey.

Were there any deck strategies that you think were overlooked for this weekend?
Seemed quite diverse, not sure anything was overlooked.What is the best Constructed deck of all time and why?

I probably should say one of the Necro decks, but it is surely Affinity (pre-clamp's banning)

Gadiel Szleifer

Age: 18Hometown: Homewood, ILOccupation: Students/cards

Previous Magic accomplishments:
"the obv"

Record Day 1: 9-0Record Day 2: 4-0 + scoop & IDHow would you identify yourself as a Magic player? (Constructed specialist, Limited Specialist, Vintage player, etc.)
All around masterHow much work did you put in for the format?
None

How big a factor was Hulk Flash in your testing?
Running it but none - didn't test

Bill Stark

How would you identify yourself as a Magic player? (Constructed specialist, Limited Specialist, Vintage player, etc.)
I love limited but have been more successful at constructed (did beat H-Ron @ PTQ finals in sealed though)How much work did you put in for the format?
A lot of theorizing/arguing with my Iowa guys, a medium amount of testing time (hours each week).How big a factor was Hulk Flash in your testing?
It was the factor. I started with Powder & Leyline main.Do you think Flash needs to be banned in Legacy?
Mmmm…I would probably punt and say "Let's see how Future Sight affects things"Were there any deck strategies that you think were overlooked for this weekend?
Obviously aggro black with a nod to Pro:White guys for Fish & DI handkill for Hulk.What is the best Constructed deck of all time and why?

An iteration of Trix. No other archetype has ever dominated for as long in varous forms. There may be/ have been more broken decks but we don't remember one-hit wonders, only repeat champions.

Owen Turtenwald

Age: 18Hometown: Milwaukee, WIOccupation: Professional Magic Player

Previous Magic accomplishments:
Joining ICBM

Record Day 1: 9-0Record Day 2: 3-2-1

How would you identify yourself as a Magic player? (Constructed specialist, Limited Specialist, Vintage player, etc.)
Legacy SpecialistHow much work did you put in for the format?
Months of testingHow big a factor was Hulk Flash in your testing?
Just another combo deckDo you think Flash needs to be banned in Legacy?
Absolutely notWere there any deck strategies that you think were overlooked for this weekend?
AttackingWhat is the best Constructed deck of all time and why?

Goblins, because Cedric Pillips thinks they are good. ¼ Londes T8

Steven Sadin

Age: 18Hometown: NYCOccupation: Student, Top8 Magic employee

Previous Magic accomplishments:
12th Place PT Atlanta

Record Day 1: 7-1-1Record Day 2: 5-0-1

How would you identify yourself as a Magic player? (Constructed specialist, Limited Specialist, Vintage player, etc.)
[No answer]How much work did you put in for the format?
I was too busy with school to test for this tournament. I got my list from Billy Moreno right before the tournamentHow big a factor was Hulk Flash in your testing?
Didn't get to testDo you think Flash needs to be banned in Legacy?
YesWere there any deck strategies that you think were overlooked for this weekend?
I didn't play against any wastelands this tournamentWhat is the best Constructed deck of all time and why?

Onslaught block constructed MWC

Max Tietze

Age: 18Hometown: Mamaroneck, NYOccupation: Student

Previous Magic accomplishments:
Winning many JSS's

Record Day 1: 6-2-1Record Day 2: 6-0

How would you identify yourself as a Magic player? (Constructed specialist, Limited Specialist, Vintage player, etc.)
Up and comingHow much work did you put in for the format?
NoneHow big a factor was Hulk Flash in your testing?
Testing?Do you think Flash needs to be banned in Legacy?
Maybe after Future SightWere there any deck strategies that you think were overlooked for this weekend?
The thought has not entered my mindWhat is the best Constructed deck of all time and why?

Turboland, it was fun to play

Michael Belfatto

Age: 29Hometown: Cincinnati, OHOccupation: Novice Homemaker

Previous Magic accomplishments:
Ohio State Champion

Record Day 1: 7-2Record Day 2: 5-0-1

How would you identify yourself as a Magic player? (Constructed specialist, Limited Specialist, Vintage player, etc.)
All aroundHow much work did you put in for the format?
2 pt's. little bit of playtesting, attention to the marketHow big a factor was Hulk Flash in your testing?
20%Do you think Flash needs to be banned in Legacy?
NoWere there any deck strategies that you think were overlooked for this weekend?Flash and goblin and fish

What is the best Constructed deck of all time and why?

Necro took whole format

Paul Nicolo

Age: 20Hometown: Oak Park, MIOccupation: Student

Previous Magic accomplishments:
2 PTQ top 8's, top 8 at Vintage Championship this year

Record Day 1: 7-2Record Day 2: 5-0-1

How would you identify yourself as a Magic player? (Constructed specialist, Limited Specialist, Vintage player, etc.)
I play everything, but prefer constructed. I enjoy playing vintage.How much work did you put in for the format?
Several weeks both before and after the flash errata.How big a factor was Hulk Flash in your testing?
It was challenging to make a deck that did well against both Flash and everything else. I focused on the other match-ups, but I still have some cards for Flash .Do you think Flash needs to be banned in Legacy?
Probably. The Pacts in Future Sight make the deck much better.Were there any deck strategies that you think were overlooked for this weekend?
Aggressive decks were required to play Force of Will , Duress and Stifle to keep up with Flash . Non-blue aggressive decks are at a disadvantage.

Gadiel Szleifer was easily the most experienced player in the room in terms of Pro Tour level play. Max Tietze was his polar opposite. While I know Max pretty well as a regular on the Gray Matter PTQ circuit on the East Coast this was certainly his best performance of any kind.

Game 1

First turn Duress on the play seems like a solid game plan for a deck coming into a tournament where everyone was fearing turn one kills - can't help you on the turn zero kill but no seemed to running that version. Tietze took Force of Will from Gadiel leaving Daze , Mystical Tutor , and Brainstorm among the eligibles. Interestingly he left the Mystical Tutor despite seeing a Protean Hulk in hand.

Gadiel dug into his deck with Brainstorm and decided to see what was up with Duress of his own revealing two different forms of combo disruption - Swords and Stifle . He took the blue card. Tietze tapped out to play Dark Confidant and Mother of Runes and Gadiel killed him.

Just like that.

Gadiel - 1 Max - 0

Game 2

Dark Confidant resolved through Gadiel's Brainstorm on the second turn of the game. It was unclear if that was because Gadiel could not find a counter or if he had the kill assembled in hand.

"How many cards do you have?"

"Five."

That was too many for Gadiel's liking and he played Cabal Therapy naming Sword to Plowshares. He saw two Meddling Mage s, Daze , and Stifle . When Max drew for the turn he also Force of Wiil which took a five point chunk off of Max's life total. Max offered up one of the two Mages on his turn and named Massacre . Gadiel attempted to take it out with Red Elemental Blast and Max chose to fight with Force of Will pitching Stifle .

Max attacked for four and dug up another Mage with Serum Visions and played it naming Massacre . Gadiel took a stab at Max's hand with Cabal Therapy and Max responded with Brainstorm . Gadiel thought for awhile and finally allowed it - he only had two mana in play. Max then responded with Daze and Gadiel chose not to pay and Red Blasted the first Meddling Mage with his other land.

Gadiel took four and tried to stop the beats by Tutoring Pyroblast but he did not have the mana to pay for the second Daze Max had ready to punish the land light Szleifer.

Gadiel - 1 Max - 1

Game 3

Gadiel led with Duress - how many times have I typed some variant of that sentence this weekend - and took Brainstorm . He checked in on Max's hand a turn later with Peek seeing a Swords still sitting there along with Serra Avenger and Jotun Grunt. Max played Jitte on turn three and the Avenger on turn four with zero resistance from the Pro Tour Philadelphia Champion.

Max Tietze

Gadiel played two free Massacre s and then summoned Sylvan Safekeeper and Phyrexian Negator . There was no countermagic coming from Max's side of the table. He was happy to put an equipped Grunt in its path should Gadiel attack and fight over that. Gadiel shrugged and sent in the Negator sacrificing two lands, the Negator, and the Safekeeper.

The two players hunkered down in draw-go mode. Max played Duress and saw two Daze , Cabal Therapy , and Pyroblast . He took the Therapy. Neither player did anything for a few more turns until Max drew Serra Avenger. He played her and quickly handed her the Jitte.

Gadiel scooped with a handful of one mana red spells, a couple of Daze s, and a disappointing finish to his amazing run. No offense intended in any way to Max but the remaining players in the Top 8 all breathed an audible sigh of relief when the result was announced knowing that they would not have to face a Grand Prix and Pro Tour Champion for the rest of the tournament.

Gadiel - 1 Max - 2

Sunday, May 20: 5:41 p.m. - Quarterfinals Roundup!

by Craig Jones

And we're down to the last eight players. While BDM covers the match between Gadiel Szleifer and Max Tietze in detail I'll be keeping an eye on the rest of the matches.

Because there's really three of me, haven't you worked this out yet…

Ryan Trepanier and Steve Sadin

Out of the remaining matchups we have Ryan Trepanier and Steve Sadin. Trepanier has being begging BDM to give him a feature match all day and now finally gets his time under the lights. This is the Flash mirror, but there aren't as many of those in the top 8 as people feared.

On the other table we're back to pre- Flash times as Owen Turtenwald is running Gobins against Paul Nicolo's threshold deck.

On the final table it's… well I don't know what it is as Bill Stark is playing Michael Belfatto in what looks like a black aggro mirror.

A couple of Daze and two Duress from Trepanier was too much disruption for Sadin. Sadin tutored for Flash to try and go off first. This was met with Daze and then Trepanier forced through his combo on the following turn.

My legacy knowledge isn't the best but I'm guessing Nicolo can't have been too happy to have got the goblins matchup. BDM has also filled me in on a little extra spice for this match. Nicolo is apparently a member of team "Unknown Stars" while Turtenwald is a member of team "Known Stars" formed in direct opposition.

Fight!

Or rather make Werebear and watch as goblins does as goblins does and boils over into an unstoppable swarm. Splash damage came into play in Game 2 as Nicolo's threshold deck didn't look like it was going to keep seven cards in graveyard ever against two Crypt. Not that it mattered as the Goblins were again unstoppable.

Turtenwald beat Nicolo 2-0.

Bill Stark and Michael Belfatto

Over in the black aggro mirror (didn't see that coming, but then we've already established I don't know squat about Legacy) Stark took the first game off the back of double Hymn to Tourach and triple Nantuko Shade . Belfatto levelled after Dark Confidant got out of hand and was followed with Plague Sliver.

In the decider there was some excitement as Stark immediately drew Jitte to counteract Belfatto's. Overall it looked a fairly brutal matchup. Both players went down to no cards in hand and creatures were being slaughtered left, right and center.

Stark got a Jitte to stick, but was short of creatures and dying to his own Sarcomancy . Belfatto had managed to shut off Stark's Nantuko Shade s with Engineered Plague and found a Plague Sliver to take big chunks out of Stark's life total.

Stark found a jump knight though and was able to pump it up to enough with Dark Ritual to let Belfatto's own sliver kill him in his upkeep.

Stark beat Belfatto 2-1.

Back to the Flash mirror and Sadin performed his own switcheroo and beat Trepanier down the old fashioned way with a pair of steadily growing Quirion Dryad s.

The deciding match started of as a nightmare for Steve Sadin as he went down to six, then five and then four cards. One of those was a Leyline of the Void though, so at least he'd have some time to try and recover.

Owen Turtenwald and Paul Nicolo

With the Leyline out Trepanier went with the beatdown option of Carrion Feeder . Sadin's first Dark Confidant was met with Force of Will , but his deck made up for the earlier indiscretions by giving him a second Dark Confidant that got to stick. He followed it with Counterbalance.

Could he actually come back from the mull to four?

Trepanier used Lim-Dul's Vault to set up an answer to the Leyline. Unfortunately it was to set up his combo as well and he had to shuffle the cards away when a Daze forced him to crack a fetch land to pay for it.

Trepanier had a one turn window to draw Flash au Naturalle. His deck didn't cough up though and when the Leyline came back down Trepanier had to scoop as he had no way to combo off and was now facing down Dryad beats as well as Dark Confidant .

Owen mulliganed down to five cards on the draw but had a Lackey to drop. Tietze decided to Brainstorm and ended up playing Force of Will pitching a Stifle . Owen had only one land but prompted Tietze to Brainstorm through his deck twice - with a fetch land in between - to find a Daze for Aether Vial but it resolved.

Meddling Mage came down and named Goblin Piledriver and was joined a turn later by Mother of Runes . Owen had a Tin Street Hooligan - unenhanced natch - and added Piledriver to his board off of the Vial but he could not attack it into a freshly cast Serra Avenger. Tietze's dreams of getting a Jitte on the board and equipped to his vigilant flier were being thwarted by Rishadan Port .

Max may have gotten ahead of himself when he chose to attack with his Mage and Avenger and had to use his Mother of Runes to save the Mage. Owen plopped a Warchief into play EOT and activated his Vial on his turn for a four drop. Max Plowed the Warchief in response. When his Ringleader hit play Owen waited for the Stifle and Max obliged. Owen took that opportunity to play Mogg Fanatic and kill the Mother. Max blocked the attacking Ringleader with his Mage and took three from the Piledriver.

Owen played another Warchief and passed the turn. He fell to seven on Max's next attack but was Vialing out a Siege-Gang. He Matroned up another Siege-Gang and Vialed that out and attacked with everyone after a little dust-up with the judges.

"Where are my gobin tokens, they were in my box. I can't believe you put something in your box and it goes missing."

The judge opened the box and pulled out the 'missing' business cards. "You mean these."

"Oh."

When I do stuff like that at home my wife calls it looking for things with "man-eyes".

Max tried to stick around for another couple of turns but he could not deal with the eight creatures that had swarmed the board since the end of his turn.

"Hey mom, the dude that I drove up with is in the Top 4. Do you want to talk to him?"

"I'll talk to her."

"Hey…If I win will you bake me cookies?"

"Tell her you are going to win $3000… she will bake you anything."

Owen - 1 Max - 0

Max Tietze

Game 2

Max had a slow draw and found his mana pinned underneath Rishadan Port and Wasteland action. He managed to sneak a Jitte into play but had nothing to equip it to. Max took his revenge by Vindicating the Port while Owen assembled a team of Mogg Fanatic s. Max tossed out a Dark Confidant and a Mother of Runes to clear the Fanatics but Owen merely cycled Gempalm Incinerator each time to clear the path for his 1/1s.

When it happened a third time to another Mother Max was incredulous. "How many was that?"

"Three," he beamed punctuating it with, "A-ding!"

Max remained gracious and even killed himself with a fetch land when he was at one and within Mogg Fanatic range.

Owen - 2 Max - 0

Sunday, May 20: 6:52 p.m. - Semifinals: Bill Stark vs. Steve Sadin

by Craig Jones

Bill Stark

Originally Bill Stark was down to help BDM with the coverage, but the day's been pretty good to him and he's now playing for a place in the final against Steve Sadin. His black aggro deck (that probably has a fancy Legacy name I'm going to be beaten up for not knowing) might not have been high on most people's predictions for top 8, but in a field either running Flash -Hulk or running small men and counters to beat it, it feels like a shrewd choice.

Sadin is running the Billy Moreno special Flash with Divining Top and Counterbalance. It will be interesting to see if the last remaining 5000lb elephant of the format can even survive to even make the final.

Stark came in heavy on the disruption against Sadin's six card hand. Unmask was followed by Hymn to Tourach while a Carnophage provided the clock.

Sadin found two Dark Confidant to try and rebuild his hand, but Bob can be a harsh tutor sometimes and Sadin got domed for a third of his life total when he revealed Protean Hulk .

When you're running a silly combo deck such hardships can be easily endured. Sadin tutored for Flash and then ran the Kiki-Jiki cycle to generate an instant army of hasty attackers.

That's what I thought anyway. A check of Stark's sideboard revealed he'd left them there. There have been more than a few "guess the deck" games after boarding at this GP and this could be guessing Sadin would go with the guy plan of Quirion Dryad s.

Sadin mulliganed heavily again, this time to five cards. He assembled the other combo of the deck by putting Sensei's Divining Top and Counterbalance into play.

Stark was already out and swinging with a Stronghold Crusade r though. He ripped Sadin's Dryad out of his hand with Unmask and then dropped Jitte on the Crusade r to quickly level the match.

Sadin 1-1 Stark.

It was time for the guessing game of sideboarding again. Which decks would we see come out to play for the decider?

Stark still felt the guy plan, as his Leylines were still left in the board. It seemed correct as Sadin dropped a Chrome Mox and opened with a turn one Dark Confidant . Stark had a Jitte in hand, but it would take him a while to get it down and active.

Sadin might have been mulliganing a lot in these top 8's, but the top of his library has been pretty good for him. Dark Confidant revealed Quirion Dryad and he drew Carrion Feeder as an unconventional beater. Well, you can't take everything out.

Stark was prepared for the guy plan though. Stromgald Crusade r held everything off for a turn and then looked positively scary when Umezawa's Jitte entered play.

Sadin had an answer though and used Echoing Truth to bounce The Crusade r when it tried to pick up the forked stick of doom. He hit the knight with a Daze on the rebound to buy himself more time to let the Quirion Dryad grow to dangerous proportions.

Steve Sadin

Another swing and Stark was down to five life and in a bad spot. He dropped a Carnophage and gave it the Jitte.

Carrion Feeder came in useful here. Stark had to chump the Dryad, but Sadin was able to stack damage and then sac the Dryad to the Feeder to prevent the Jitte from gaining any counters.

Sadin dropped Counterbalance and with the Top in play there was now no way for Stark to assemble enough defence to stop the Feeder and Dark Confidant from killing him.

Steve Sadin beat Bill Stark 2-1 and is now one match away from achieving his personal quest of getting a bigger trophy than Matt Wang.

Sunday, May 20: 8:00 p.m. - Finals: Steve Sadin vs. Owen Turtenwald

by Brian David-Marshall

Owen Turtenwald

Game 1

These two players faced each other early on Day One when Steve, who had been away at school all semester with little time for Magic, literally threw away a match against Owen by sacrificing his Karmic Guide to Carrion Feeder instead of Kiki-Jiki.

Owen was already the big winner in this tournament as he was going to win the Amateur Prize in addition to whatever else he won. His friends were hungry and jokingly urged Owen to take the money and run.

"Owen…you're only playing for like a grand. Just scoop to him and let's get something to eat."

"Hey he punted against me," Owen considered it. "Its only fair that I punt against him. It is the code of punting."

Before they played the match the finalists looked at each others decklists so no one would have an unfair information advantage. Normally the lists get typed up and distributed but for this event the players looked at their opponents physical lists they turned in at the beginning of the event.

"Look at all these crossouts," Owen marveled as he tried to decipher Steve's chicken scratch.

"Yeah we were working up to the last minute."

"Thank god you cut these Engineered Plague s!" announced Owen as he peered through the scribbled out parts.

"Good luck," wished Steve.

"You too, man."

Steve Sadin

Steve mulled his opening hand and agonized over the next six for a looong time before ultimately sticking with that set. Owen also went back to the well. Neither of these players were afraid of mulliganing. Owen won one of his games on five cards while Steve went down to four in his pivotal Game 3 quarterfinal match.

Steve revealed the cause of his deliberation. He had kept a no-lander and played Chrome Mox and Top. He passed the turn and spun the Top on his upkeep to find an Island . Owen went to punish him for his keep with Tin Street Hooligan but Steve floated blue, popped his Top, Daze d the Hooligan and Mystical Tutor ed for Flash . He could only get out Karmic Guide and return the Hulk. He had to pass the turn and Owen made a Matron.

Steve put the Guide in his yard and played the Carrion Feeder that was in his hand.

"Uh-oh…that's bad," said Owen. He did make Steve play it out though and once Steve showed him that he wasn't going to punt this one they moved onto the next game. Steve earned a round of applause from the crowd of spectators for his tight play.

"Hey..hey," protested Owen to the outburst. "That's only one game."

Game 2

Owen came right after Steve in Game 2 with a Goblin Lackey and Tormod's Crypt on the first turn. Steve Swords to Plowshared the Lackey but that gave Owen a target for Wasteland . Steve was out of gas and his Brainstorm - which he had to play off of Chrome Mox was met with Pyroblast .

Owen had Pildriver and Mogg Fanatic while Steve was still Brainstorm ing into land. Steve played Counterbalance but things were looking dicey for him. Owen attempted Goblin Matron and Counterbalance flipped a Mox. Steve decided to Force pitching Flash and went to eight. Steve Mystical Tutor ed on his upkeep for Brainstorm only to have it Red Elemental Blasted. Steve showed a land on top of his deck and conceded.

The crowd applauded in turn for Owen.

Game 3

Owen cracked first with Aether Vial prompting Steve to Brainstorm . He let the Vial stick and Owen passed the turn with red mana up. Steve Mystical Tutor ed at the end of the turn for Daze and was able to defend his Flash when Owen played Pyroblast . And as quickly as that Steve Sadin was the Grand Prix Columbus Champion.

Final result: Steve Sadin defeated Owen Turtenwald two games to one to win the 2007 Grand Prix Columbus trophy!